Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

OHCHR supported the convening of the fourth session of the Forum on minority issues, established by Human Rights Council resolution 6/15, which took place on 29 and 30 November 2011 in Geneva and focused on "Guaranteeing the rights of minority women and girls.” Over 400 participants attended this fourth session, including persons belonging to minorities from all regions, representatives of non-governmental organizations, academia and experts as well as delegates from United Nations Member States. During the two-day discussions, the multiple discriminations faced by minority women as members of minorities and as women, and other barriers, including violence against women, were highlighted. The outcome document contained practical and concrete measures and recommendations aimed at guaranteeing the rights of minority women and girls, including to better protect them and raise their awareness on violence against women and girls. Hide

OHCHR, as Chair of Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), organized a side event on protecting victims of trafficking during the 17th session of the Human Rights Council (June 2011). The panelists included ICAT members (i.e. OHCHR, ILO, UNHCR, UNODC, IOM, UNICEF, UNAIDS, and Interpol).A regional consultative meeting on combating trafficking was organized in Qatar, in cooperation between OHCHR and the United Nations Human Rights Training and Documentation Center for South West Asia and the Arab Region, and in partnership with the Qatar Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking. Hide

In October 2010, UNICEF, the OHCHR and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, supported by the Government of Sweden, organized a panel discussion on the promotion of better data and research to inform child-sensitive and effective laws, policies and action, where UNICEF presented the results of its forthcoming report on Child Disciplinary Practices at Home. Hide

The OHCHR supported the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences in participating in the 2010 General Assembly, including convening a side event on reparations for women who have been subjected to violence. Hide

The OHCHR Regional Office for Central America continues participation in the inter-agency group on gender by providing input to a regional project by the SG “UNiTE” Campaign, which focuses on strengthening the capacity of States in the region to improve investigation, prosecution and reparation in cases of of gender-based violence. Hide

OHCHR Regional Office for Europe provided a briefing (21 October) on the work of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women at an International Conference on Violence against Women in Central America which took place in London and was organized by the Central America Women's Network (CAWN). Hide

The OHCHR Country Office in Mexico has completed the first stage of validation of the indicators on violence against women, involving several stakeholders. The OHCHR supported the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its causes and consequences to conduct three country visits, namely to Algeria (1-10 November), Zambia (6-11 December) and the United States (24 January-8 February 2011). The OHCHR supported the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women in attending the civil society regional consultation for the Asia-Pacific region (January 2011). Hide

Following the report of the “Panel on Reparations for Sexual Violence in the democratic Republic of Congo”, in December 2010, the OHCHR undertook a follow-up mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo to discuss the findings and recommendations of the report with all stakeholders. Hide

The OHCHR Regional Office for Central America organized a training of trainers on “Human Mobility and Human Rights”, for UN staff in the region, that included one Module on Gender Analysis of Migration and violence against women throughout the process. Hide

The OHCHR/Human Rights Adviser in the Russian Federation contributed to activities of the annual campaign “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” in partnership with the UN Gender Theme group.The OHCHR Regional Office in Central Africa participated in a conference/debate ("causeries éducatives"), organised by the UN Theme Group on Gender, on 8 December 2010, in Yaoundé, Cameroon, where several issues were discussed, including early and forced marriages; female genital mutilation and gender-based violence and HIV/Aids. Several stakeholders participated in the event. The Human Rights Section of MINUSTAH in Haiti, in collaboration with the MINUSTAH Multimedia Center held a session on the different types of violence against women, with representatives of the civil society (November 2010). Hide